A LONG-RUNNING dispute about a blocked footpath in Otley looks like it might now be settled... in 2020!

People in town have been pushing for more than eight years to get Piggy Lane officially adopted by Leeds City Council so the obstructions blocking it can be removed.

Many residents had submitted evidence to support claims the path – between Lisker Drive and Leeds Road – had been used for decades before a greenhouse and wall were put up at either end.

But in the intervening years, the case has languished amidst the local authority's Public Rights of Way department's backlog of work.

Trinity Rise resident, David Mowlam, has just been told the dispute has 'moved up' from number 21 to 19 on the waiting list. But, because it will be dealt with at the same time as several other cases, it is now effectively at number ten.

A less-than-impressed Mr Mowlam, who has been pressing the council to take action for years, said: "Wow! That means they have resolved two cases in a year.

"And now we’ve only got to wait for number ten to reach the top, and they’ll deal with it.

"Roll on 2020 – it will only have taken them 13 years."

The landowner at the time when the dispute first began told the Wharfedale & Aireborough Observer the Piggy Lane path was part of his property, not a right of way.